The Dionne Quintuplets Legacy: Establishing the "Good

Doctor and His Loyal Nurse" Image in American Culture

Fifty years ago, on May 28, 1934, in the wilds of rural :'-lorthern

Ontario, Canada, the mi raculous birth of five identical baby girls had world-wide repe rcussions for the im­age of physicians and nurses . It also affected the economy of Canada; it affected the way people raised their children; it even affected, to Ih is very day , the nature of the physician· heroes portrayed in movies and tdcvision series .

Viewers growing up in the 19605, '70s, and '80s probably take for granted the al most a rchety pal ~good doctor,~ as represented by such me n as Drs. K ildare, 'Welby, and Gannoll, and their current counterparts on such television series as Trappu John, MD and 51. Eluwh(Tt. These physi­cians know all of their patients by name, recog nize and solve all of the patienl's proble ms- both physical and psychosocial-and charge little o r nothing for their servIces. Although this medi a image of the

B~atrice J. Kalisch. RN. EdD. FAAN . • , Titus profeilor of nursmg and chairpuson of parem-child nursing; Philip A. KaliKh. PhD, is professor of hi.to ry . politics. and ",onomies of nurstng at ""II as imuim <iirO'C!Or of the Center for Nursing Research ; both at lht Universi ty of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Thi. ",.dy ... a. ,uppOrt""! by rn"Mrh gram NU 00579. U .S. I'ublic Health Str-.ice, Htallh Resourct. Adminiscralion, Dj,·iSlon of Nurs· ing.

The photograph. in this artide arc credited to T",cnlicth·Ctnlury·t·o;< films .

242/NURS I1'\G & H EA LTH CARE

BEATRICE J. KALISCH & PHILIP A. KALISCH

physician is nearly standard now, such was not always the case. In mo­tion pictures of the 1920s, for in­stance, physicians were frequently pori rayed negatively, as criminal, avaricious, promISCUOUS, an d/or foolish. But news o f the birth of the Dionne quintuple Is, and most especially of the modest count ry doc­tor who delivered them, changed that bad image and set in its place an ex­ample of a physician so good that he approached sain tliness IlJ.

Backgrou nd

The birth of the five Dionne girls­Yvonne, Annetle , Cecile, Emil ie, and ~1arie- had a stagger ing impact on the public. T he chances of even fraternal quintuplcts being born are only one in 54 million to begin with; the odds o f five paternal (identical) babies developing from o ne egg are incalculable, a s it has happe ned only twice before in history and there was no past record of su rv ival beyond a few days of either fraternal or iden­tical quints. T hus, Ihe chances of su r­vival fo r all five of the Dionne quints were even slimmer. Aside from the miracle of the ir very existence, these identical, premature mi les were born

in a poor farmhouse in rural Canada and were kept alive by a modest physician uSing rather prim itive measures [2].

T he p ress hastened to brighten the gloo my Depression timu with this cheery bit of news, and the publi c responded with almost unprece­dented enthusiasm. Nearly 3 m ill ion people drove the long trek north to "Quintl and" to see the babies, their touris t expenditures helping rescue the depressed economy of the Pro­vince of Ontario. Newspapers found an almost insatiable audience for a ny mention o f the quints, and they kepI up a stead y Aow of articles about every aspect of their growth, develop­ment, and upbringing; their family backgroun d; their physicians and thei r nurses; their prospects for the future. Businesses by the dozens sought endorsements from the quints or the quints' physician, knowing that their products' success was assured by such sponsorship , Everyone who kne w the quints, or knew someone who knew the quints, sold their stories o r mementos to the public, Journalists, photographers, business­men, government, and family all squabbled (often in court) over their rig hts to various parts of the quints' lives [3].

The American public somehow felt th at the babies belonged to everyone; they fell free to advise and criticize about the children's upbringing, and they approved when the Ontario

· • •

t

i ,

I ~

f y

\

go\"(~rnmC'nt stepped In and an­nounu:d that it wa~ making the Dionne babies ..... ard~ of the Province because it did not (.onsidn the natur,d parCIlIS fit to nt l5e these I1li r"clc babies. :'-10 one St'emnl con­ccrned about the five I;hildn;n the Diollncs had already had bdore tilt' qumts "ere born, nor about 1Il{'- two born hllcr: those children II en: fUft-ver to be Jeft out of the publiC's concern. ge nerosity, and adulation

1'1· For the adorable quintuplets,

huwc'cr. the gOI'unment built ,1

private hospital up Ihe road from their parents' house; Ihne, the little girls were raised by a group of nurses, in ste rik surround ings, and in a(.cordance ..... ith the latest scientific thcories of child rea ring. T he Dionne p<lrents were pe rmitted on ly li mited visiting privileges, and the other Dionne chIldren were not allowed to

see them at all. A special committee was set up to determine the qui nts' upbringing and to manage thei r ~na nces. T he poor Dionnes fought the decision in va in, whi le the press made them look like foo ls no maner what they d id. Hence, before the b"bies "ere e"en a year old, the stage was set for acrimonious ba tt les abou t how they should bc raised and by whom, and abOUI Ihe maHlve amoun ts of money that bega n 10 pour in. For the first nine years of the quintuplets' 1i\'es, the government won the battles [jJ.

In retrospect, the Ontario govern­ment's usurpation of the parents' right 10 raise their own chi ldren

~ecms outrageous, but SUdl an aC!lo n "as hil!:hl~ <Ippro\ed of at the time becau~e of the way that th\."" media presented the story to the publ ic. Thi~ tOmtituted a !righ teni ng object lesson about thr power of the p rt'ss to ,hape tilt' publi(.'s i1Jla,~e of Cyt'nls. One should not undercst iuutc the greed that surround~'d tltt' b"bles btu. on the other hand. no o ne wished them ill. either: everyone intended only the best for them Howevc r , even "i th the: he~( of intentions, this inte rference alrn os t ruined the quints' lives, a~ the author ities made dec i­sions about them according to ",hat they knew. Cnfort undtely, what they "knew~ was o f len j ust what the nev.·spapers IOld them. and the press offered a highly slanted vie",. J our­nalists p ictured the quiec . rcspcctah le Dionne coup le as laughably ignor;ulI peasants who suught o nly to exploi t their miracle habies for money. For ~e"rs, Iheir ar ticles about \tr. Dionne (in particular) were marked with hos tility to\, ard the poor, beleaguered man [61.

T he press's vicw of the phYSician, ho'\e\'er, approached adulatio n ­also a highly biased view . D r. Allan Roy Dafoe. a rather odd man, had fame thrust upon hi m , and he thorough ly enjoyed it. W hen the five tin y babies "ere born two months prematurely. he d id not expect them to li \'e, but he se nsibly kept them warm . did not hand le them much, and - in the absence of enough mother's milk - fed the m sma ll amountS of warm wate-r laced wi th sugar or rum . S hon ly after the ", orld

heard about the quints, thei r every need was fitted. Refrigerated loads of mother's mi lk arrived daily by train. docto rs olfe n:d their s~ rvices, and in­cubators. food . clothi ng. and mane} fo r the babies pou red in . T he best 01 expert s irtll lledidtely ra ll ied al'ount! to help keep th e babies ahc, bu t Dr. Dafoe recei\"Cd all o f the cred it Ill .

T he public adored h im. As the newspapers pre~entedhim, Dr. Dafoe was a man of un limited medical skills, a modest and altruistic mall who lovingly tl't'ated the fam il ies III h is neighborhood witho ut regard for money and "ho remained untouched by sudden famt' People Hocked to hea r the speeches he \~as frequently invited to give, dnd they avidly read the synd icated column th"t regululy appeared under h is byline. I n actu· ali t}', Da foe was a man of q uite or­dinary, even med iocre, skills- both me d ica l a nd social. He had delibera tely sought out a small, remote community in which to prac­tice medicine, at leaSE partly to escape comparison with his more b rilliant and more famous younger brother, a promi ne n t Toron to physic ian. T here, he re mained rather rcdusive, treating pa tients any time they needed him but neve r really becom­ing part of thc community and never bot h~ring to learn french. the p rim ary language of the area. The press co nsis tently pictured him as in­different to money (and, indeed, he often did refuse to accept a fee frolll poor patients), but Dr. Dafoe, in fact, became as rich as the quints themselves (and, un like thcm, he

. ...,....

y~)I-----~

managed 10 hold on to his wealth), and he collected fees from his syn· dicated columns while paymg another physician a pittance to write them. He scarcely even glanced at the articles that went out under his name (8(.

Clearly, Dafoe did not quite match his public image, but many people believe what they want to believe until forced to do otherv.·ise; and, in a Depression era of singularly bad news, they desperately wanted to believe in the comforting image that the mass media offered them of this noble country doclOr. In conjunction with the cute identical babies, he was absolutely irresistible.

The motion pictu re industry, of course, was as av id to cash in on that irresistible combination as everyone else. Twentieth·Cen t ury-Fox planned a series of annual movies featuring the quintuplets. They pro· duced three films in the projected senes: Tht Country Doctor in 1936; Rtuniofl, later the same year; and Fil)t of a Klfl.d in 1938, each containing 10 to 20 minutes of footage on the quints. The artistic values were modest, but the box office success was substa ntial. In all three films, actor Jean Hershol! played lovable Dr. J ohn Luke (a thinly disguised version of Dr. Dafoe), a role that he was 10

repeat many times for the next 25 years under one name or another and one that made him famous. The im­age of this wonderful country doctor, then, became an extraordinarily f,uniliar one, not only because of its own attractiveness, but also because of its close association with the as­toundingly popular quintuplets.

Nurses also appeared in the three films. They were not idolized as the physician was, nor wcrc they shown

·1 any consistent characterization. .\cq:nheless, they were unusually significant becausc they represented part of the public's image about the Mperfect~ way in which the quints "ere being raised. As substitute mothers to the babies- indeed, they "<.:re the most "rear mothcrs that the 'Ihies knew- these nurses were con-

lcred by the public to be privileged 'Illd wonderful women who were Somehow immune to the failings of normal motherhood. [n one way or another, each of the movies made a COmmenl_ direcliy or indirectly-

about nursing and about the nurse­physician relationship [91.

The three films had certain com­mon elements. In all three, of course, the five famous babies appeared, playing dolls, singing: little songs, doing little dances, or playing with the nurses or the doctor. The main plot always concerned some good deed- usually Dr. Luke's- that met with trouble before its happy resolu­tion . In addition, at least one romance always traveled the same rocky path to happiness. Finally, each fi lm had at least three characte rs to provide comic relief by means of ignorance, pratfalls, or slapstick . Papa Asa \Vyatt (character actor John Quale n, who specialized in playing half-wits), the film fat her of

Nurses also appeared in the three fi lms. They were not idolized as the physician was, nor were they shown in any consistent characterization. N evertheless, they were unusually significant because they represented part of the public's image about the (Y>eifect" way In which the quints were being raised.

the quints , appeared each time as a slight, weak-chinned, ineffectual man, the butt of numerous jokes about his many progeny. Except for the birth scene, he ne\'er appears with the children; indeed, sometimes the crowds shove him aside so deter­minedly that he can't even catch a gl impse of them. But always there is some oblique reference to his extra­ordi nary virility. (H e makes five straight bull's-eyes in darts; he always makes a r inger in horseshoes.) In· evitably, Constable Jim Ogden (played by Slim Summerville), the other constant comic relief character, remarks, "You never miss, Asa.~ Asa just mugs significantly [101.

Tht Country DoctoT, the firs t of the

"--------- ----

Ho ll ywood movies featuring the quints, was a box office hit for 1936 and set the tone for the films that followed. The plot of TIt Country Doc· tor is st raightforward. J ean H ersholt pla ys Dr. J ohn Luke, the only doctor in the small lumber· mill community of Moosetown in the north woods of Canada, a town dominated by the North Bay Lumber Company. The story opens when the last boat is about to l ea~·e for r-,·Iontreal before the winter freeze isolates the com­munity. Two people who had planned to go on that ship are prevented. Pretty Mary MacKenzie , daughter of the lumber mill boss, is forbidden to go by her strict father. T he other is lumberer Mike Scanlan, who was hurt in a mill accident. His smashed legs encrusted with casts , Mike lies ttl bed, bored and frustrated, until Dr. Luke gives him an old shortwave radio and tells him to amuse himself by putting it in working order. Delightl!d, Mike fixes it and whiles away the winter hours by tuning in civilization beyond the snowbound Moosetown Ill}.

Isolation brings worse problems for others in the town. A diptheria epidemic erupts, and the disease spreads rapidly, for there is no hospital in which to isolate patients from thei r families. The priest offers the church as a temporary hospital, and he, the doctor, Nurse Katherine Kenn edy , and young Mary Mac­Kenzie work desperately 10 help the stricken child ren. Antitoxin serum supplies dwindle alarmi ngly, Ide­graph lines are down, and Dr. Luke sees only disaster ahead without ou t· side help. He goes to Mike, who (after some effort) reaches Montreal on his radio, and the doctor asks his brother Paul, a famous big-city doc­tor, to help.

Paul tries, but gets scant en­couragement from the officials at the North Bay Trading Company because bad weather conditions en­danger the pilot of the company plane . Paul's son, Tony, volunteers to fl~· th rough the blizzard to tak!! the life-saving serum to Moosetown. Stopping only to grab his mechanic, ~Greas}''' McAndrew, Tony fli es precariously through the storm and makes a rough landing, wh ich damages the plane and strands him in Moosetown fo r the rest of the winter.

Moz)'1245

· • t ! •

• r

t , f ~ 1 •

!

" , }

f

, • ! ,

, j

t ,

Tony finds himself strangely happy A somewhat unfocussed medical stu· dent heretofore, he now sees the fasc ination of a country doctor's prac­tice, in which a man is called upon 10

deal ..... ith e\'ery kind of medical crisis. H e helps Dr. Luke with the diphtheria patients and also fall s in 10\'e with Mary MacKenzie.

The diphtheria epidemic fades; winter passes and, in the spring, Dr. Luke goes to Montreal to plead once again for a hospital in his smal1 com­pany town. Again, officers of the North Bay Company are re~istant,

so Dr. Luke, when introduced at a medical assoc iation dinner, bursts into an impassioned appeal for his hospital, a speech noted by the Governor General of Canada.

Back home, the ow ner of the lumber company fume~ at Dr. Luke'~ interference and has him fired as company doctor. Furthermore, he discovers that Dr. Luke has never ac· tually obtained a license 10 practice medicine. \Vhen confronted with this charge, Dr. Luke admits its truth. Although he had passed all of the re­qui red exams for his license, he had not had the $20 fee for it at the time, and he had practiced medicine for 30 years, always intending to pick up the license some day . Constable Odgen says that Dr. Luke must leave town o r be jailed.

Just as Dr. Luke is about to board the boat, Asa Wyau comes running to say that his wife is about to deliver a chi ld two months carly . Asa is $omething of a joke in town, for his wife has produced a child every year without fail for the past seven years. This pregnancy see ms to forebode trouble, however, so Dr, Luke says to the constable, defiantly: "The woman needs me, so I'rn going 10 go. Arrest 111(' if you like, but first give me a , hance to commit the crime." ,.\ssisted by the nurse, Kathe rine Kennedy, Dr. Luke delivers the smallest baby he has ever seen. To c\'eryone's astonishment, that baby is quickly followed by a second, third, fnurth, and fifth. Constable Odgen "mments mournfully that the doctor

j ust piling up more and more n'idence against himself.

As Dr. Luke fights to save the lives of these tiny infants, word of the miracle goes to the world, and help begins to pour In, Incubators,

clothes, and food arrive. Sightseers, eager to see the famous babies, floc k into town, reviv ing the area's stricken economy. All thoughts o f dismissing Dr. Luke for lack of his $20 licensing fee are long forgotten as people: praise the modest cou ntry physician who kept the babies alive against such unlikely odds. Indeed, the Governor General sends a telegram to Dr. Luke, promising him his coveted hospital. The quintuplets and the hosp ital grow together-all sat isfac­torily-and the movie ends at the ded ication ceremony of the finished hospital- at which time, the little countfy doctor humbly accepts the Order of the British Empire , which is bestowed upon him by the

This rifusal to value monry is just one part of the generally altruistic and unworldly character of the country doctor. The maternal and loyal nurse has to remind him about practical matters like sending out bills, buying a new suit when he needs it, and remembering to take the price tags '!fJ when he finally wears it.

Governor General in the name of King George V .

In Tht Country Doctor, Hersholt, as the beloved Dr. Luke, exhibited vir­tually all of the characteristics that later became standard traits for the "good doctor ." Common, but no t essential, was the solid. fatherly physical appearance. Except for about six inches of added height, Hersholt even looked a liule li ke the famous Dafoe. Both had crisp gray hair and mustache, both wore round, wire-rimmed glasses, and both had a com fortable paunch that rounded out their dark, three-piece suits. Behind the glasses, the eyes shone with sy m­pathy, concern, and good humor. It was impossible to expect anything

'-------------

but good from such a kindly, avun­cular figure.

More imporlant than appearance, however, is the physician's excep­tional medical skill Whc n Mike Scan lan's legs a rc crushed, everyone assumes that amputation is the only possible treatment, but Dr. Luke, with only his little black bag and with on ly the mi ll's bu nkhouse as an operating room, saves the man's legs and assures his future employabi lity. Another lumberman credits Dr. Luke with having saved his arm in the pas!. Fina!!y, of course, the doc· tor proves his skill by performing the Impossible-ket:ping alive the tiny wmiracle babies,~ the premalUre quin­tuplets whose combined birthweight was only about thirteen pounds. Again , the doctor has only his black bag, his com mon sense, and his un­common skill to perform this task, but he triumphs, nonetheless.

The physician's care for hi s pa­tients goes far beyond the treatment of physical symptoms. After 30 years of practice in rvloost:town, Dr. Luke knows e\'eryone in the community by name; indeed. he has delivered manv of the town's citizens into the world. To hi m, they arc not mere medical problems; they arc whole people, friends, whose every trouble is his concer n. H ence, he treats both M ike's shattered legs and his bored sp iri ts, bringing him the radio for oc­cupation and amust:ment. Dr. Luke has a genius fo r giving people a sense of pe rso nal worth, perhaps the most healing power of all. When JI.[ike manages to communicate with Mon­treal via radio and arrange for the an­titO.l(in 10 be flown in, Dr. Lukt: tells him that his talents have saved lives and that his awful accident has ~eT\'ed a valuable purpose after all . \Vhen everyone teases Asa ..... 'yau un­mercifully about his annual additions to the Moosetown popula tion. Dr. Luke tells him kindly : wOon't let them tease you about babies, Asa. It's good to have them . f'.:othing sweeter in this world than babies.~ When Asa is depressed at the quints' birth, wondering fearfu ll y what the neighbors wi!] say abou t his p roduc­ing a whole ~liuer· of babies, the doc· tor says firmly: "Asa, go 10 your wife , Shc needs you. T ell her you are proud and happy; tell her you love her.~ To the good doctor, everyone is

M<zy1247

I. £

i i i : ! • r ~ ,

r • •

t • i

•

.J , \ ,,~ c " ,

~, .. ~,

a sensitive human bc:-ing who~ feel­ings deserve: utmOst consideration.

The only needs thai he docsn't con· side r a rc his o\\n. Patients always come first for Dr Luke. He goes 10

them any ume that he is needed , sacrificing sleep and personal plans. He oftcn waives even hi s smal! fees if he feds Ihal a paden! can't afford 10 pay. AI OIher limes, he'll accept eggs, chickens, hogs, or firewood as pay­ment. Evcn when his 0,",'11 financial position becomes despe rate, he still values other people's good before his own.

This refusal to value money is JUSt

one: part of Ihe generally altruistic and unworldly character o f the country doctor. The maternal and loyal nurse has 10 remind him about practical matters like sending out bills, buying a new suit when he needs it, and rememlxring to take the price tags off when he finally wears it. He good-naturedly lets her bon him about in such maile rs most of the time, but when she suggests that he leave the ungrateful folks of M oosetown, he refuses.

However underhanded other peo­ple may get, Dr. Luke always re­mains completely trustworthy; his word is as reliable as gospel to those who know him . When Mike IS

248/NURSI NC & H EA LTH CARE

- -- --

. ~ , .. i

/

J j

screaming h}'sterically that he wants to die if his legs arc cut off, the doctor says quietly: MNow, Mike. you trust me , don' t you? Then just go to sleep and lea~'e things to me. I'll take care of you.~ /\like trustingly submits to the anesthesia. In addition, we see that the doctor's integrity transcends all consideration of personal gain when the nurse points out that he has thrown away some S50,000 worth of requests for endorsements. Glancing indiffere ntly at an offe r that the nurse has snatched up at random, Dr. Luke says mildly: ~I couldn't endorse Prun­o-pep. T he babies don't like i t. ~ To make this point about the doctor's unassailable word, the movie ignores the idea that he migh t .... ell have uS«! that $50,000 to build the hospital for which he pleads so desperately. Nothing is allowed 10 sully the image of honesty, integrity, and unworld­liness.

While the doctor is being noble and unworldly, nurse Kathe r ine Kennedy, cast largely in the role of loyal assistant, is taki ng care of prac­tical matters, Although he r image is meant to be favorable, the nurse's im­portance is completely overshadowed by the cen tral role of the doctor. Whatever her talents, however much she works, no matter how much good

:;r ~ ) l

"V\ -.-•

she does, all goes toward making Ihe doctor a more effe<:tive. more be· loved, and more altruistic character.

\Vhen the doctor is not available . the nurse can diagnose and splint a broken arm herself, withou t giving it a moment's thought. But when doctor and nurse work togethe r, the doctor does everything important, and the nur.oe is reduced to carrying out only simple tasks requiring no special skills o r knowledge, such as calling for boiling water. The nurse works day and night for nearly a week without sleep, but it is the physician who gets the camera's loving focus as he falls wearily asleep in a chair-the hero-doctor who works relentlessl), until he: li terally drops, Although the nu rse act ually continues to .... ork as he sleeps, her tireless devotion s.:-ems 10 be lak.:-n for granted. Aside from her professional work, Katherine Kennedy also manages Dr. Luke's house and his accounts. The resulting image is not that she is the more capable and sensibi.:- of the two, but that the doctor is the more unworldly and more altruistic. H e alone, ap­parently, can pu t the needs of his pa­tients above the thought o f money . The nurse no more gets singled ou t fo r a share of the glory given the doc­tor tha n his right arm .... ·ou ld, and

" •

I • •

* • • I 1

both of them seem content to have it that way.

Katherine Kennedy's combined ac­tivities throughout the films, more than anything else, yield a maternal image. Her every function seems to involve the nourishment, protection, and comfort of doctor and patient alike. Despite the fact that she looks about half the doctor's age, the nurse acts like his mother, taking care ofhis house, making him tea , cooking, fussing about his clothes, packing his suitcase, listening to his problems, and advising him . Even when she works with him professionally, her functions arc still maternal in nature.

The nurse is frequently associated with the practical details of living and running a private medical practice. She checks and orders supplies, keeps track of the doctor's bills, and dears away any barrier that might hinder him in his work. When Dr . Luke is away, the nurse seems quite capablc of replacing him in many ways. However, this capacity for indepen­dent action is not emphasized in a way that makes her seem equal to the doctor (even in areas where sh~

clearly is); rather, she is seen only as a handmaiden to the physician . Everyone likes Katherine Kennedy, but they think of her- as she ap­parently thinks of herself-primarily as an adjunct of the doctor. In other words, she is simply an agent that helps the physician perform his miracles of modern medicine.

The image of the wonderful Dr. Luke, so firmly established in Tht Country Doc/or, persisted undimmed in the other two Dionne quints' films, in the seven Dr. Christian mo­tion pictures that continued the country doctor and handmaiden nurse image, and in the 16-year C BS oldio series, also called Dr. Chn'stion 1937-1953), that followed it.

Although many of these later depic­tions placed less emphasis on the physician's medical skills per se, other positive attributes loomed very large. His ability to plumb the human psyche, to see the need there, and 10

,''lOW how to fill that need is a talent at overpowers even his diagnostic

and treatment skills, Somehow, the "good doctor" knows how to give peo­ple such a sense of their own worth that they are not only able to solve their p roblems but also to put aside

wrong actio ns and choose right ones instead [121.

In fact, the doctor is very nearly a religious hero, although no spec ifiC creed is espoused. Repeatedly, his unselfishness, his dedication, and his integrity are emphasized. Even his name is an indication of the writers' intentions to suggest his saintliness. Clearly, Dr . Luke (and Hersholt's subsequent portrayal under the name Dr. Christian) was in tended to be a repository of all of the WChristian~ virtues. Indeed, in many respects, he is a Christ-like figure in these films. He is humble and self-sacrific ing, he is sometimes reviled (temporarily) for his righteous and unselfish actions, and he wsaves~ many people-not their souls, per-

Once convinced that such a being could, in fact, exist, viewers and listeners were reluctant to abandon the image, Hersholt's characterization imprinted indelibly on the public mind the image of the peifect doctor, which has been carn'ed forward, with ever-increasing zeal, to the present day.

haps, but certainly their bodies and their spirits. Above aU, he is the in­carnation of love - all-encompassing, all-forgiving, untiring, and gracious. There is no hint of sexuality in this love; it asks nothi ng for itself, but seeks only to give, 10 make life better for others. Such love has a healing power all its own, quite aside from the medical skills that the doctor possesses, and it raises the doctor to a realm quite above ordinary, fl awed human beings. He is, like God Hi mself. the perfectly loving father­figure, the perfectly wise counselor, the perfectly ski lled miracle worker .

This, then , is the image that the eager public absorbed when it flocked to the theaters to glimpse the famous babies. Furthermore, Tn.t Country

D~lor ended wnh assurances from the modcst Dr . Luke that all country doclOrs we re like that : ~I have done nothing more than what they have all done, what they are doing every day_" Once convinced that such a being could, in fact, exist , viewers and listeners were reluctant to aban­don thc Image . Hersholt's char. acterization imprinted indelibly on the public mind the image of the perfect doctor, which has been car· ried forward , with ever-increasing zeal, to the present day.

The handful of nurses who ap· peared in the motion pictures with Dr. John Luke could scarcely hope to compete with the dazzling image of the saintly physician_ Their ap­pearances were usually very brief. Although nurses were pleasant, at­tractive, clean, neat, and kindly, their roles were long-familiar stereo­types: they were the doctor's loving, trusted, competent helpmates, but the)" performed almost no duties re­qUiring any expertise, nor did they demonstrate any real importance in health care.

T he nurse characters in these por­trayals did assume at least some im­portance because of their key role in caring for the quintuplets. Since every aspect of the qu ints' lives was so publicized, the public already had an image of the quints' real·life nurse, which favorably influenced their view of motion picture nurses. _The public was we\1 aware of the mothering fu nction of the nurses and that they were part of the quints' ~perfec l, ~

scientific upbringing in the ste rile nursery, where the babies were to bloom unsullied. The nurses, both real and fi ctional , always appeared cheerful, confident, and re\a;'{ed, They somehow didn't look capable of Ihe tiredness, indecision, untidiness, or short tempers that ordinary mothers were heir to. Many a mother wrote to say that she wished her own childre n could be raised in such ideal conditions, and thousands read with eager awe the syndicated news ar­ticles in which one of the quints' first nurses, Yvonne Leroux, described the babies' daily routines and also wrote a se ries entitled "My Diary of Three

, Years with the Quintuplets [13J. Consequently, choosing act resses

to play the parts of these revered nurses was no mundane casting job

Mayl249

r I

!

•

L

or the fillllmaker~. lHt ress Dorothy 'eterso n. who play ed :\"urse Katherine Kenm:dv in twO of the three fil ms. "as cho'st."" n u,er a host of other appllc:lIlt s for the rolc, not because of her acting abilitit.""s, but because of ht.""f blamdess character. The Boston Sunda.y Po,l reported lyrically, ~Ollly one "i lh lhe highest idealism, whose name never had been cven faintly touched by scan­dalous rumor, could be ~rrnitled in close proxim it>· to the babie s. What type of woman is th e actress chosen as worthy to hold ill her a rms those precious bundl t's of baby hoodJ a charmin g . low-v oic ed wo man, dedicated to mother roles . one seen occasionall y at teas. but never in the popular nightclubs. . She cven blushes~·· The worthy ~ti s s Peterson was onl y in her twentie s. but she looked o lder and ,,·as frequently chosen to play middle· aged mother or nurse ro les. Something In that serene, rather mat ronl y fa ce sug· gested ·'mother·' o r ~ nurse·· to the directors. She herself speculated that she was chose n for such roles

250/ 1'URSI:'\G & HEALTH CARt:

~because I am not colorful and g lamorous," an interesting, if unintentional, commentary on the image of the nurse [14J.

Another reason that the image of the nursc was given grcatc r sig­nificance in these motion pictures was the important reality that the nurses aClually did replace the babies' mothcr. The mother o f the quints never appears in the fictionalized films; indeed, for the first nine years of their lives, the quints knew Mrs. Dionne only as a visitor to their little hospital. nu rsery. TheIr "real" mothcrs were a succession of nurses apparently providing the babies with loving care. In their bitle r auto­biography, the quints rdate that their happiest years were those early ones spent in the hospital with the nurses. It is perhaps significant that, as adults, four of the five quints entcred educat ional programs to prepare them for humani tarian-orie nted careers-two as nurses and two as nuns.

The five babies, whom the nurses and the good doctor cherished dearly, were a cheery sight for the viewing public. Their eyes sparkled, their curls bounced, and their sm ilcs were enchanting. \Vhatcver problems other characters in the stories might have had, no hint of trouble was associated with the quintuplets, who tumbled about as charmingly as five puppies at play while others looked on lovingly. The motion picturcs, of cou rsc, gave no hint that the babies' real life stories did not end so happily. While the screen nurses and doctor presided wisely and lovingly ove r a peaceful nursery, the real Mrs. Dionne was having bitter fights with Dr. Dafoe, whom she hated, and was firing and hiri ng a succession of nurses (14 different nurses scrved as surrogate mothers during thc quints' fIrst 6 years), never allowing the children to have a permanent mother·figure.

T he H oUyood creations ga\·e only unconsc ious hints that the glorious experiment was not going to succeed. Sadly, the child ren's perfect, scientific upbringing, so celebrated In newspapers, magazines, and motion pictures, did not, in fact, produce superior human beings. The girls grew up to be painfully shy, as isolated in. society-when they finally

got out into the world-as they had been in their guarded nursery. T heir adult lives bore tragic records of early deaths, alcoholism, psychological deterioration, broken marriages. failed careers, poverty, bitterness. and permanent family estrange­ments. The three surviv ing quin­tuplets wrote a bitter autobiography, summin g up their vaunted upbring­ing by stating: ~There was mor~

money than love in our Iives"j15J. From a 50'year perspective on

thei r birth dale, the irony is almost un~arable that these children should have grown up feeling a lack of love when the whole world adored them, when millions of people traveled to the wilds of Canada for the privilege of walking through the viewing com· pound to glimpse at the quints at play, when the Queen of England herself knelt 10 greel them, when gifl s were sen t 10 the children from ad­mirers around the world, when peo­ple snatched up every newspaper and magazine that promised a new pic­ture of the quints or a new story about them.

It is indeed unfortunate thai the qui ntuplets' real lives did not match the image projected In Ihe mass media- an image of children without a problem in the world, playing happily with the nurses who cared for them. The motion pictures about them reRected only the prom ise, the hope, and the good intentions for these unusual children. Only on film did the noble experimenl work Ihe way it was supposed to. In reality, Ihe children inhcrited the sad fruiu of all of the greed, misundc rstanding, jealously, and bitterness that raged around them. The American public , however, inherited the ideal- the im­age of the courageous country doctor and the devoted, happily subservient nurse. This archetypal image has proven nearly indelible and presents a formidable obstacle to effons to

enhance thc current image of the nurse.

References

1. Kalisc:h, S., and Kaltsch, P. Image. of "" ..... and phpiciall' ill ,h~ rna,. med,a health ca.e senre, ill Tlu Mdia, Cam· ,"~nuoriM, ond f/,a/lh Po/if). Pr«udi"I' ~j IItt 4th AnI/lUll .\'Qif/tt/ FQT~," (Memphis, Tenne • ..,,,,: The Un,,·cr.i,y orTenne .. e~, in press).

l •

r t · f ! , I • I I •

i I \

")0- .•

• ¥-

'2 B~noll , P Th. D,eM' y",,,.- A Thi,I'(1 .U./od,e ..... Ne ..... York Norton, 19i6, pp. 11-12.

3 Barker, L. TIlt D.a~~ UI,"d: Qu,ntuplm.n CapI'e'I.!. Garden City. New York: Doubleday. 1951, pp 1-3,

4 Brough. J, JII, W." Fit" The Die"", Q"i~. lap/m' Sla,.! f,em 8,,11. Through WQ"","h"""'. :-;" ..... York' N~ .... Amencan Library. 1963, pp, 2-3,

5. Blarz. W TIlt F".'e S,.lm A Slud, ofCh!ld P~hloU· Ne ..... York: Wilham Morro ... · and Company. 1938. pp, 1-16.

6 Dionne quinrupleu' flllher dLes ar 75. fkl'cil Newt, November 16. 1979. (knon, op ('I pp 35-50,

1\ Ib,d .. pp, 61-94 E"dush-e phorographs of b,m"d quin· wplelS w,ll be shown III Tit, Cow .. rr, /)O{.

wr. S)"aruu Htrald. February 23. 1936. Qu,"\! ad lib all SCenes in lheir piclure due on radio cilV sc reen . ~.,',,~ Yo.kjou."~/.

~Iarch II, 1936. Qu"us 'gnore 1111 film rules. Dn MO'rla r lowal R'l.m,. February 29, 1936: D,onncs to scar again. K~~"". ell, S'",r, Ju"" 3, 1936. O'o""e' ha~" ~rea ( li'"e play,ng !FtnlU ..... uh acror. P,llS' .. ,,(It Prm. o.:c~mber 7, 1935. Quin· "'I,I"u arc ""rfrt'r bab",~. Lo. Angeles '''r'''ld aNI E~"'mmn. o.. .. "",o.:r 1 I. 1935: '\musing mm't" ad""nrul"<:l of rhe DIonne '1uilltuple.,. &SIC" Su"d",.! /'Oll. Fehruary ! 19)6

1" H, Counl'J Doclo •. 110 min,. H & W. Krl~as<:d, 3·2·36, Dislributor: T ... ·(I11 k(h. (,'mury. Fall D'I"«(or: Henry King "'~rc"npld)': Son)'a L.,\'Ien. from an '''I('n~1 scl"<:en scory by Charle. Blake. . "1 O.onne Quintuplets. Jean Hersholt,

'''''c L~ng. SIi", Su""n~rville, I<.'l'ch~el \\'h .• I(n. Oormhy Peterson. Roberr II"'ra!. John Qualen. MO'>l~gu Love. I.'nc Da ..... ·ell. Fr~nk Reich~r, David Tor. r .. nce. George Chantlcrl. Helen J~romc hid)". Aileen ClIdyl". G"orge Meeker,J. "n'hnny Hughes. and W,lIiam Benedkc .

I

-II. Ibid,. rhe analy." !hat follo,",'s is hued ou

several viewings of TIlt CU"I? 1J«1~' 12. Reu~;on. 80 min. B & h'. Reluscd;

I I· 13·36 Diurtburor: T ... ·enr;erh· Century· Fox. Dlree!Or: Norman Taurog. Screenplay; Sam Hellman. GladYI Lehman. SOil Levien. from an unpub· hshed Itory by Bruce Gould CUI: Dionne Quintuplcn.Jean Henhoh. Rochelle Hudson . Helen Vinson. Slim Summerville. Roberr Kcnt.John Qualen. Doro(hy Peterlon. Alan Dinehart . JEd· w"rd Brombert, Sara Haden. Monlaguc Love. Tom Moore, George Ernesr . Es(her Ralsron. Katherine Alexander, Juhus Tannen. Edward McWade. ~ l lude

Ebume. George Chandler. Claudia Coleman. Hank Ma"n. HaUte ~lcDanici Ftu of c Xmd. 83 mi" . B & \\' Rcleascd 10,14·38, Di.tribu(or; T ... ·cmicth·Century Fox Producer; Sol M. WurucI, Director: Herbert [ Leed5 Screcnpla:.- Lou Breslo ...... John Palnck. Cast. The Dionne Quimuplcrs. Jean Her· .hoh. Claire T I"<:,"or , Cesar Romero. Slim Summerville, Henry \Vilcoxon . Inc. Cou rtney. John Qualcn. Jane Darwell . Paul ine 1<.100'-':. John Russell. Andrew T ombes. D,,,,id T orrence , Marion B)·ron. Ham,hon l\lacFadtl"n, Sp"ncer Chrrers. Charles D. Brown .11m D, Ch,i,,,,,, ... 63 min .. B & W. Re· lcased : 11· 17·39. Di.trihu!Or: RKO Radio OlfecrOr: Hern3rd Vorhau$. Screenplay: Ian McLellen Humer. Ring Lardner. Jr .. Harvey Garel. from an original Kr«n trory h)' Harvey Gates. CaSt: Jean Hersholt. Dorothy Loven . Roher! Baldwin. Ellid ikllne". Paul Ha ..... ·ey. Marcia "-lac JOlles. J.~kie Moran, Maude Eburne, Frank Coghlan. J r, Pa rsy Lee Parsons. Sarah EUwlIrds. J ohn Kelly. Eddte Acuff. n. CO""~~1lJ Dr CIt,;rl;a ... 67 min., B & W. Re1used: 4·5,40. Dimibutor: RKO Radio. DiTeccor: Vernaru Vorh .. u •.

Screenplay: Rmg Lardner. Jr. lall ~I .

Hunter. Ca5r Jean Hershelr. Dorotlw Lo"el!. Roberr Bald ... ·m. Tom :-;eal, :\Iaude Eburne . Vera LewIS. George Meader. Bobby Larson. Bobelte Benlk Reginald BarJow. Ja~qucl",e de River, Edmund Glo,"e r. D,. C1.mlla~ M"u Ih, lL"omt~, 66 ~Ion .. B & \\'. Released 1·~·40. Disrriburor RKO RadIO. D,,«to •. \\",l1iam ~lcGann Ca.t: Jean Henhoh. DOrOlh) Lovett. Edgar Ken"ed~. Rod La Rc.que. Frank Alber(son, Marilyn ~I.rrick. ~Iaude

Eburne. Veda Ann Korg. Lelah Taylor, William Gould. Phyllis Kennedy. Bercha Priesely. Dtedra Vale, H"inie Conklin. Mrlody for Tit,", 67 m.n. B & W. Re· leased: 3·28·41 D'strlbutor RKO Radto, Director; Erk C. Kenlan Screen pia)': Lee Loeb, Walter Furi, Cast Jean Hershoh. Fa~' \\"ra\. Waher \\'oc>lf King. AS(rld AIIo .. ",n. Sch,,'kr Srandish. Andre.... Tombes. :\laude Eburne. Par" Rurh PMSOn!. To.cha Seltld. Ir~l\e Ryan. EI1,ia .... II"'an. [ren~ ShIrley. Donn,,, AII,·n. Le '''' T,·ll·r. C llt! "'azarro. TIt,y .lfu/ Ag<I'n. 67 min, B & W. Rr· kas-ed 7-11-41 [) .. ",bucur RKORadoo Dtrector: EriC C. Kenron, Adapted from an original ",rfin story by Perer :\1I1"e Cast. J eal\ Hersholl. Doro(h;' Lo'·en. Raben Bald"in . I<.budc Eburn". "'eil H:unilron. Anne Benneu, Harwn Yar· borough. Arlhu r Hoyr. J ohn Dlbon. Frank Mehan, Leon Tyler. Mthon Kibbe". Gus Glassmirc. PallY Lee PH' .ons. Meredirh Howa.d.

13 . Lerou.~. Y,·onn ... My tit.,)· of eh.ec y"ars with q ui,uup\els. Ptll1b.,(h p.m. Ma)' 26-30 . 1937. Serlel of fi"e article.

14 . Dionne quinu scired Dorothy Peterson. movie srar. &.1lIrI Sun"':; I'od. J .nuary 27, 1936.

15. Brough, Of ,II .. pp 2-3.

Mayl251